L2,3M45M45Auger Spectra of Metallic Copper and Zinc: Theory and Experiment

Abstract

The ${L}_{2}{M}_{45}{M}_{45}$ and ${L}_{3}{M}_{45}{M}_{45}$ Auger spectra of clean metallic copper and zinc were measured. A theory was developed to predict the Auger energies. The theory employs experimental electron binding energies, which were also measured, two-electron integrals, and Hartree-Fock energies. It accounts for multiplet splitting in the ${d}^{8}$ final state, predicting structure in excellent agreement with experiment in zinc and in very good agreement in copper. It also accounts for atomic relaxation and for static extra-atomic relaxation (screening), which is related to the Friedel theory of alloys. The theory developed here predicts the Auger energies to within 1 eV in zinc and 2-3 eV in copper. Since atomic integrals were used, the success of the theory implies that an atomistic approach to Auger energies is valid for these metals. The magnitude of the extra-atomic relaxation energy (\ensuremath{\sim} 10 eV) suggests that it may be a crucial factor in Auger energy shifts arising from chemical environment or surface condition.